Decoy



April 7, 1959 c. K. CRUMMER ET AL 2,880,544

` DECOY Filed Sept. l2, 1955 United States Patent DE-Cov Charles K. Crummer :and JohnA. IC.;Kehoe, Chatham, (lntario, Canada Application September 12, '1955,Sera'l No. 5%;821

14 Claims. (Cl. yi3-.3)

This invention relates to .decoys and particularly to 'decoys which are used :for hunting -wild game such as ducks `and fgeese.

Thepdecoys `which are presently fused for hunting Wild game such as ducks and geese are made-:otra buoyantmaiterial .euch as wood and :comprisezan :elliptical and a shead Lhaving the general configuration of a Nvildduck tor :.goose. The .decoy :is .usually painted `to v.simulate :the par- .ticular bird which is .being hunted. .According-ly, .it ,is mecessary to have .separate decoys :for each type of 'bird which is to .be hunted. The decoys, being made of wood, :are usually subjected to breakage .and .require ifrequent '.nepainting and zrepair.

iltiis therefore an object'of this invention to :provide-a means for y.readily :convertinga decoy for zuse in ,hunting different ty-pes .of ibirds.

It is a further object of the .invention no provide means Jwherein old .decoys may tbe ,quickly and easily converted for reuse Without .major repairs or repainting.

-fI1t is a -further object ,of :the .invention .to yprovide fsuch -a imeans Awhereinnoldldecoys may the easily vconverted `-ttor `me in hunting .different types .fof lbirds.

Basically, the invention :comprises providing a hollow -cover of "elastic material having Asubstantially Athe :same configuration fas the/decoy fand provided with lan .opening l1in 'an area corresponding -to Vthe undersurface Aof :the decoy. 'Theopening-inthe-'cover 'isfof less cross sectional area than xthe greatest fcross ,sectionalarea of the decoy whereby the cover may be mounted on the decoy and held inl place by the inherent elasticity of the cover.

Inithe drawings:

Pig. 1 4is -a side .elevational .view of iadecoy'having the cover thereon.

`Fig..l2-is .a sectional view .along the line 2--2 :in Fig. 3.

.Fig 3 is a plan view .of the underside of the .decoy in Pig. 1. Fig. 4 `Iis ,a part sectional 4elevational hview o'fca modified form of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevational view of a further modiication of the invention.

As shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a decoy 10 of the commonly used type is made of a buoyant material such as wood and comprises an elliptical body 11 and a head 12 whereby the general configuration of the deco-y is substantially the same as the wild game which is to be hunted. According to the invention, a hollow cover 13 is provided having a body 14 and a head 15 of the same Ageneral size and configuration as the decoy 10. The

cover 13 is made of a resilient material such as rubber or plastic and is provided with an opening 16 in the area corresponding to the undersurface of the decoy 10. A --rib or beaded edge 17 surrounds the opening 16 in the -cover 13.

Since the cover 13 has the same general size and conliguration as the decoy 10, it may be readily slipped over the decoy and maintained thereon due to the inherent elasticity of the material. The opening 16 has a cross Sectional area less than the largest cross sectional area of -the decoy v10 so thattheycoveris maintained .tightly-somme decoy. The rib 17 .increases fthe stiffness of '.-thedip .sur-

rounding -the vopening 16 and ,further .aids .in Ymaintaining the cover tightly 4on the decoy.

The -outer surface of the cover may .he molded, painted, stencilled or otherwise provided with f-necessary colors land designs .as :at 25 26 to simulate ,various'wild ducks -or geese. By having vcover-s `with diierent colors and designs, the same decoy .may .be v.use ,d .forhunting dif- .ferent birds merely by changing gfrom Y,one ,cover to another.

The decoy 10, on which the cover 13 is mounted, may he ,of .the type currently iused or vmay be .an .old decoy Whichfhas become .marred or :broken A,or from .whichthe paint has been removed by wearfand -tear .incident Ltouse. 'Ifhe rdeeoy may have Iport-ions ithereof broken ,and :leed nothe repaired =before Ithe cover 13 :is .-applied'thereto.

in -,the form of the invention .shown :in .-Flimgnd., thecover t8 :has ,the head 19 .thereof n.made of a .material Lofl in- 'creased thickness :such that ,it is :formretaining fand is especially intended for use with sa -decoy .20--w.hich .has had rthe 4head thereof .broken off .in use. By usefof ,such iarcover 1-8 thedecoy 20 which would .otherwisehave had `to ,be discarded or :extensively .repaired fmay '.be reused. The yincreased thickness -of the head ,19 makes `the 4,head 19 'form-retaining even though the head ,of the fdecoy 20 is v,broken off.

lIn 'the modification :shown fin ,f1-lig. 5,., ithe entire hody 21 yand head 22/of1the vcover .are .made-.ofatmaterialtwhich vhas form-sustaining characteristics, whereby the .cover may be stretched over either the `decoy 10 or .211, euch as .shown `in Figs. '2 -and L4, respectively, =or as shown in .'Fig. .5, over ,any at elliptical body, such ,as 23, which, for convenience, may have -a peripheral undercut .groove 24.

1t can Ireadily vbe -seen vthat we :have provided means whereby decoys of the type currently used mayfbefadapted for use-.in Yhunting different types :of birds. glniaddition, We .have l.provided means 4whereby old .decoys :mayibe quickly and leasily adapted for reuse in hunting Ldierent rtypes of birds. The decoys :need not be repaired orrepainted before .the ,covers :are used.

Where the cover Sis :to fbe used ioveradecov, fit frnay be .of such a'size and vconfiguration to fit snugly:over;,a-.small size decoy :such as for liluebill fduc'ks. The `coverfxnay ,then fbe Lused either on small size duck :decoys-.or A,on :larger size duck decoys. When used on larger size duck decoys, .the rbody and .head tof :the zcover tare` stretched ,over Vthe decoy.

llt will be understood that the :resilientmatenialf the .decoy cover may be :quite :thin even when the IdecQy rbody is in the form shown in Figs. 4 and 5 because the air trapped in the cover will assist in maintaining the shape of the upper portion and/or the head of the molded decoy cover. The important features being that the molded cover be of sufiicient resilience to stretch over a buoyant block of some shape, and of such thickness as to be shaperetaining when in the water, even though the buoyant block does not fill all the spaces of the molded cover. In all preferred forms, the decoy cover may be collapsed or folded and carried in a pocket.

We claim:

l. A duck decoy or the like comprising a buoyant body, the size and configuration of said body being similar to a duck or the like, said body including a head and an undersurface, and an integral hollow cover of elastic material having a configuration geometrically similar to said body and of less size than said body throughout corresponding areas thereof, said cover having an opening therein in an area corresponding to the undersurface of said body, said opening having a cross sectional area less than the greatest cross sectional area of the body, said cover being mounted upon said body and held in place solely by the inherent elasticity of said cover, the buoyancy of said body being sncient to support said body and cover without sinking, all lower portions of said cover terminating adjacent the undersurface of said body whereby said cover permits said decoy to have a natural action in the water.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said cover is formed with a beaded edge in the portion thereof surrounding said opening.

3. The combination set forth in claim l wherein the outer surface of said cover is provided with markings to simulate the duck or the like.

4. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the outer surface of said hollow cover is molded to simulate a wild duck or the like.

5. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the outer surface of said hollow cover is decorated to simulate a wild duck or the like.

6. An integral cover for use with a duck decoy or the like which has an undersurface, said cover being made of resilient material and comprising a hollow generally ellipsoidal body and a head at one end of said hollow body, said hollow body having an opening therein in an area corresponding to the undersurface of the duck body or the like which it is to simulate, the cross sectional area of said opening being less than the largest cross sectional area of said hollow body, whereby said cover may be mounted over a solid decoy body formed from buoyant material and of substantially the same size as the body of said cover and held in place solely by the inherent elasticity of said cover, all lower portions of said cover terminating adjacent said opening whereby said cover when mounted on said decoy body permits said decoy to have a natural action in the water.

7. The cover set forth in claim 6 wherein the outer surface of said cover is provided with markings to simulate a wild duck or the like.

8. The cover set forth in claim 6 wherein said cover is provided with a beaded edge in the area surrounding said opening.

9. An integral cover for use with a duck decoy or the like which has an undersurface, said cover being made of elastic material and comprising a hollow generally ellipsoidal body and a head at one end of said hollow body, the cover including said body and head being of such a thickness that it is form-retaining, said cover having an opening in the area thereof corresponding to the undersurface of said duck, whereby said cover may be applied to a decoy body which is formed from solid buoyant material and has a cross sectional area greater than the cross sectional area of said opening and maintained in position thereon solely because of the inherent elasticity of said cover, all lower portions of said cover terminating adjacent said opening whereby said cover a natural action in the water.

10. A duck decoy comprising a generally ellipsoidal body of solid buoyant material, the size and configuration being similar to a duck or the like, and an integral hollow cover of elastic material mounted on said body, the buoyancy of said body being sutiicient to support said body and cover without sinking, said cover having a body portion and a head portion, said body portion of said cover being generally ellipsoidal in shape and having a configuration similar to said body of said decoy, the size of said body portion of said cover being slightly less than the size of the body of said decoy, said body portion of said cover being of such a thickness that said body portion is stretched over said body of said decoy and is maintained in place solely by the inherent elasticity of said cover, said cover having an opening therein lying in a plane generally parallel to the major axis of said body of said decoy and on the side of said cover diametrically opposite said head portion of said cover, all lower portions of said cover terminating at said opening thereby permitting said decoy to have a natural action in the water.

11. The combination set forth in claim 10 wherein the thickness of said body portion of said cover is such that said body portion is collapsible under its own weight when removed from the decoy body.

12. The combination set forth in claim 10 wherein said head portion of said cover is of such a thickness that it is formretaining.

13. The combination set forth in claim 10 including a beaded edge formed in the area of said body portion of said cover surrounding said opening, thereby providing increased stiffness in said body portion of said cover in the area surrounding said opening.

14. An integral cover for a duck decoy or the like, said cover being made of resilient material and comprising a hollow generally ellipsoidal body and a head at one end of said hollow body, said head being of such a thickness that it is form-retaining, whereby said cover may be mounted over a solid decoy having a body of substantially the same size and configuration as said cover and wherein the head of the decoy is broken or removed and whereby said cover is held in place solely by the inherent elasticity of said body of said cover.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 547,033 Ross Oct. l, 1895 747,732 Kremer Dec. 22, 1903 1,611,117 Kearns Dec. 14, 1926 2,201,164 Fox May 21, 1940 2,274,246 Riddell Feb. 24, 1942 2,578,411 Fisher Dec. l1, 1951 2,706,357 Nigh et al. Apr. 19, 1955 

